In Arkansas and South Carolina there is no doubt who the starting quarterbacks are. The difference is that one is coming off a rough season as a first-year starter and the other is an established player preparing to be a first-time starter. We check in on both QBs in our weekly look around the SEC:Allendetermined to lead Hogs

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said his starting quarterback from a season ago "looks like a different guy." Hogs fans can only hope that is the case.

That is no disrespect to Brandon Allen, who was far from alone when it came to struggling in Fayetteville last season. Rather, the quarterback's sophomore struggles included suffering an injury to his throwing (right) shoulder that cost him virtually two full games and may have hindered his effectiveness for a much longer period.

Therein lies the concern for Bielema and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney. If the Hogs are to mount any kind of an about-face with a passing game that ranked a putrid 109th in efficiency last season, a good place to start is to make sure Allen is fully healthy.

So far this spring, Allen has been in charge of the first-team offense, which he should be at this stage. While it was not pretty being at the helm of a team that went 0-for-8 in conference play, Allen earned some stripes -- even if they were black and blue -- with his perseverance and nearly led the Razorbacks to a season-ending victory at LSU.

Competition is a good thing and Allen has plenty of it this spring, including his younger brother Austin, who will be a redshirt freshman. While man's best friend is often the backup quarterback, there is precious little experience on deck. The only other returning quarterback that threw a pass for the Hogs last season is the well-traveled A.J. Derby, who will be a fifth-year player after stops at Iowa and in the JUCO ranks before landing in Arkansas last January. He completed the Southern Miss game in which Allen was hurt and started the following week in a loss at Rutgers. Derby totaled 36 attempts in 2013.

Though Allen ranked 99th among the nation's top 100 quarterbacks in pass efficiency last season, there are more reasons than not why the job should be his to lose. He is in his second go-round under Bielema/Chaney and third season overall at Arkansas. As such, Allen has developed continuity within the system and with the players, not the least of which are two of the top three returning pass catchers (TE Hunter Henry and WR Keon Hatcher) as well as three returning linemen.

While Allen is not letting on how much his shoulder affected him after returning to the huddle last season, it matters none now. What matters is that Allen has fully recovered and he appears to have turned the page to 2014 with a positive outlook that teammates are noticing.

Thompson's time has arrived

South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson (17) gets ready for a play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Kentucky, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

Dylan Thompson committed to South Carolina almost five years ago. The last two seasons he appeared in 21 games, started three of them, including a victory against in-state rival Clemson in 2012 (no small detail), and is considered one of the team's leaders off the field. He is also interning in the athletic department. About the only thing Thompson has not done in Columbia is start a season as the team's No. 1 quarterback.

It is no surprise that Thompson is now the Gamecocks' starter, as it was clear to whom Connor Shaw would hand the baton. For those observers who may have had a little doubt, coach Steve Spurrier eradicated any such thought by anointing the fifth-year senior as the keeper of the offense back in January.

Spurrier has long known how to handle his quarterbacks and in this situation, in which one QB is clearly well ahead of the rest of the field, it was hardly a startling statement to pronounce Thompson as his guy. What the message did, though, was allow Thompson to have the winter, spring and eventually the summer leading into fall camp to get used to hearing and reading that he is indeed the heartbeat of Spurrier's offense. For the Old Ball Coach, his intentions were far more about preparation than confirmation.

Too many times a coach hems and haws even when it appears such a situation is clear cut. Not Spurrier, which is something that Thompson deserved.

There is certainly room for another pass protector at Ole Miss. With three senior starters having departed and a couple of returning players limited this spring due to injury, 19-year-old Laremy Tunsil is suddenly a veteran among the Rebels' offensive linemen. With only five months before the opener in Atlanta against Boise State there is much work to be done in rebuilding the line, but at least the main attraction boasts an accolade-heavy resume from his freshman season -- and he lines up at left tackle.

Quarterback Bo Wallace has to remain upright, after all, and if he is going to be directing an offense that is breaking in three new starters on a line that also needs to build depth, then it is a good thing his blindside will be well protected.

Though he missed the Rebels' Liberty Bowl victory over Georgia Tech with a shoulder injury, Tunsil's first year in Oxford was such that he earned several first-team freshman honors on a national level and was a second-team All-SEC selection. He made such an impression that reporters are already asking about his draft stock.

While there are a couple of years to go before he needs to think about that, it is a case of first things first this spring. Coach Hugh Freeze, in particular, would like to see the 6-foot-5, 315-pounder work on his run-blocking technique. It should be remembered that Tunsil is a teenager and while his initial season of college football elicited much praise from far and wide there is plenty learn.

Who lines up with Tunsil come Aug. 28 against the Broncos may not be entirely answered until the days leading up to the game. While the unit is not exactly wearing name tags, guard Justin Bell, who will be a fourth-year junior, is the only other healthy lineman that started last season and is also working out this spring. While Rod Taylor, No. 56 on the ESPN 300 and the No. 2 guard (behind LSU's Garrett Brumfield, who was No. 54 overall), will arrive in the summer and tackles Daronte Bouldin and Davion Johnson are ready to go after redshirting during their first season on campus, the rest of this spring and fall camp will be critical as co-offensive coordinator/line coach Matt Luke sorts out the details.

Although not for another year, the person likely to benefit most from this year's O-line transition will be the starting quarterback in 2015, presumably either Ryan Buchanan or DeVante Kincaid. However it shakes out in 2014, Tunsil will have to help bring the less experienced players along while continuing to develop his game.

Finally?

March means Madness, spring training, spring football and ... Derrick Thomas on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Again.

Voting concludes Monday and for the fourth year in a row the late, great Crimson Tide pass-rusher has my vote. It is a shame he has remained on the ballot this long and there are theories that have been bandied about as to why the delay. (Go to the Derrick Thomas portion of this Bleacher Report piece for some of that back and forth.)

Thomas was eligible to appear on the ballot in 1998, 10 years after his final season of college football. His name first appeared in 2011. Of all the school, conference and NCAA records that Thomas holds, the most mind-numbing is the 27 sacks he recorded in 1988. He concluded that season by blocking two field goals in a one-point win over Army in the Sun Bowl.

If not one sport, then the other

The three SEC schools in the Sweet 16 failed to make a bowl on the gridiron last season: Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Conversely, none of the 10 conference schools that played in a bowl made the NCAA tourney. At least students and fans of the three institutions in the Sweet 16 have something to feel good about during the academic year even if the first half of it did not go so well. The only SEC school that failed to make either a bowl or the tourney? Arkansas. It wasn't all bad on the hardwood, though, as the Razorbacks took two from Kentucky in the regular season, lost to the Gators by only a deuce, went to the NIT and finished with 22 wins.